St Johnsbury Academy - Lamp Yearbook (St Johnsbury, VT)

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THE ACADEMY STUDENT 13 Not once beat Praise be Thine! I see the whole design, I, who saw power, see now love perfect too: Perfect I call Thy plan: Thanks that I was a man! Maker, remake, complete, - I trust what Thou shalt do I XYhile the idea that this life is somehow good is dominant in many poems, other poets contend that a future life is necessary to compensate for the injustices ol this one. Rudyard Kipling expresses his view of a heaven in L'Envoi. And only the Master shall praise us, and only the Master shall blanieg And no one shall work for money, and no one shall work for fameg But each for the joy of working, and each, in his separate star, Shall draw the thing as he sees it for the God of Things As They Are. In a century when people had very deep and fixed religious convictions, it can readily be seen that scientific theories such as evolution would cause tormenting doubt. Religious thinkers in the nineteenth century were torn with doubts about immortality. They found an answer in Alfred I.ord Tenny- son's In Memoriam with its beautiful expression of the current religious conflicts and its hnal conviction that fear, doubts, and suffering will find answer and relief only through faith in a God of I,ovef' Shortly before his death Tennyson requested that his lyric Crossing the Bar should always stand at the end of any volume of his works, as a final expression of his hope and faith. Sunset and evening star, .-'ind one clear call for me! .-Xnd may there be no moaning of the bar, XYhen I put out to sea, Hut such a tide as moving seems asleep, Too full for sound or foam, XYhen that which drew from out the boundless deep Turns again home. Twilight and evening bell, And after that the dark I- And may there be no sadness of farewell, VVhen I embarkg For tho' from out our bourne of time and place The flood may bear me far, I hope to see my Pilot face to face XYhen I have cross'd the bar.

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12 THE ACADEMY STUDENT Yes, as llly swift days near their goal, 'Tis all that l implore: lll life and death a chainless soul lNith courage to endure. Prayer by Louis Untermeyer is also concerned with the general struggle of life, yet this poet asks not for victory, but rather the ability to learn from defeat, to refuse to grow comfortably self-satisfied, and to share the ugliness as well as the loveliness of life. God, though this life is but a wraith, Although we know not what we use, Although we grope with little faith, Give me the heart to light -f and lose. Ever insurgent let me be, Make me more daring than devout, From sleek contentment keep me free, And fill me with a buoyant doubt. Open my ears to music, let Me thrill with Springls first flutes and drums- But never let me dare forget The bitter ballads of the slums. The most perplexing problem to thinkers since the beginning of time is the so-called problem of evil. How can a belief in a good and omnipotent God be reconciled with the injustice and suffering we see about us? Alexander Pope, living in the eighteenth century age of reason, attempts a scientific answer. lie says that if we could only grasp the whole scheme of the universe, we should be able, like God, to view suffering in the proper perspective and calmly observe that we are all parts of one stupendous NN'hole, whose body Nature is, and God the soul. All Nature is but Art unknown to theeg All chance, direction, which thou canst not see, All discord, harmony not understoodg All partial evil. universal good. :Xnd spite of Pride, in erring Reasons spite, Une truth is clear, Whatever is, is right. Since man is capable of reasoning, Pope maintains that reason can and will govern life. Perhaps an even more optimistic attitude is taken by Robert Browning in Rabbi Ben Ezra. Yet gifts should prove their use: I own the Past profuse Of power each side, perfection every twin: Eyes, ears took in their dole, Brain treasured up the whole, Should not the heart beat once How good to live and learn?

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14 THE ACADEMY STUDENT Although it would be easy to conclude from a rapid glimpse of present- day verse that the 11OtC of pessimism and disillusion is the general one, a more comprehensive study would reveal along with this a directly contrasting tone of mystic ecstasy. The mystic feels that the ultimate nature of reality may be known in a divine apprehension. He has a feeling of direct union with a spirit quite beyond any earthly experience. lfrancis Thompson feels this in The Hound of Heaven. I fled Him down the nights and down the days: I fled Him, down the arches of the yearsg I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways Of my own mindg Zlllfl in the midst of tears 1 hid from llim, and under running laughter. Up vistaed hopes, I spedg And shot, precipitated, Adown Titanic glooms of chasmed fears, From those strong' Feet that followed, followed after But with unhurrying chase, And unperturbed pace, Deliberate speed, majestic instancy, They beat-and a Voice beat More instant than the Feet- All things betray thee, who betrayest Me. In conclusion we might say that from this wide range of experience and imagination there is a poetic thought which can touch every mood of any human being. Perhaps l-laniel I.ong's The Poet sums up the poet's contri- bution. I take what never can be taken, Touch what cannot beg l wake what never could awaken, But for me. l go where only winds are going, Kiss what fades awayg l know a thing too strange for knowing, I, the clay. -Barbara Counsell